eRikm/Muller/Nakamura

The trap that holds the opening and closing pieces of this electronics and samples trio improvisation is a dangerously common one: each performer commits himself to a limited palette of sound that too closely resembles the others. Within this minimalist spectrum the only variations attempted are volume and frequency of repetition, which works only occasionally to elevate above a paint drying-level of interest. At a third of the way into the middle, longest piece, a crack suddenly opens allowing an iridescent wave to build, crest and crash over the monochromatic tones. When this gives way there is a return to the static, clicking fussiness of a thousand car engines cooling off in unison. The trio would have done well to invite a fourth artist to bring some livelier contrast to the proceedings.